Sutton Coldfield Edward's a funeral director at just 19

DEATH and dying is a taboo subject for many people, but it’s all in a day’s work for enterprising teenager Edward Cutler.

DEATH and dying is a taboo subject for many people, but it’s all in a day’s work for enterprising teenager Edward Cutler.

For Edward, from Sutton Coldfield, is the UK’s newest owner of a funeral directors – at the tender age of 19.

With financial backing from his father, Edward has set up Cutler Funeral Directors from premises in Little Sutton Road, Four Oaks, and is now on the lookout for funeral bookings.

Edward first learned his trade whilst working for two years at Rugeley Co-operative’s funeral parlour in the Staffordshire town, and decided to branch out on his own with help from his father John.

Edward said: “I have always had an interest in funeral directors – it’s not an everyday job, it’s very different.

“Death can be taboo with a lot of people but I’ve wanted to be a funeral director from the age of eight or nine. I was always interested in seeing what the job was like behind the scenes.

“I left school at 16 and worked to get my driving licence. Then I applied for a job as a driver at Rugeley Co-op funeral services where I learnt the trade.

“But when you are working for a corporate business, you cannot make your own decisions and I always knew I wanted to branch out on my own. My dad backed me financially, which was a great help in a recession. He looks after the business side of things so I can concentrate fully on looking after the funerals.”

He said dealing with death on a daily basis did not bother him: “I have got no problems with it because, at the end of the day, it is going to happen to everyone. In any case, 95 per cent of the time, you are dealing with the living, with ministers, the family and so on.”

Edward is planning an open day at his fledgling firm on June 27 from 11am to 2pm, complete with horse-drawn hearse – and a bagpiper. Call 0121 308 3038.